Researchers at Princeton University
asked volunteers to look at pictures of
rival Congressional candidates they did
not recognize and say which one in each
pair looked more ''competent.'' Their first
impressions correctly predicted the
winner on average in nearly 70 percent
of the races they studied.
Russ Feingold
|
|
 |
Tim Michels
|
|
In this example,
55 percent of volunteers thought
Senate incumbent Russ Feingold, who
won the election with 56 percent of the
vote, looked more competent than Tim
Michels, who got 44 percent.
Here are the answers to the quiz for the following
2000 Senate races:
In South Dakota, John Thune was
seen as more competent by 63 percent
of volunteers, and he won the race with
51 percent of the vote compared to Tom
Daschle's 49 percent.
In Nevada, Richard Ziser earned 35 percent of the vote, while Harry Reid
won the election with 61 percent, and
was seen as more competent by 75
percent of the volunteers.
In California, Bill Jones (second row,
far left) earned 35 percent of the vote,
while Barbara Boxer won 58 percent of
the vote, and was seen as more competent
by 60 percent of volunteers.
In Illinois, volunteers threw researchers
a curveball. Eighty-four percent
thought Alan Keyes looked more competent
than Barack Obama, but Obama
won with 70 percent of the vote to
Keyes' 27 percent.
| 
